It Used To Be A Broom Cupboard
by worrywart
Summary: Take four friends, an unsuspecting witch and wizard, a boring Ministry retreat and mix. What's the result? A bit of fun, some 'I didn't want to envision that' moments and in the end, love. What did you expect from a story by Worrywart? Written for the LJ smut fest on Granger Enchanted. This is an edited version. See A/N in first chapter.
1. Chapter 1

**This story was written for the LJ Smutfest on Granger Enchanted. This story was honed and sharpened by the wonderfully talented Thosedarndursleys,** **Krissy _Cits, and beta/Brit Picked by Velveteenbunny.**

 **The story is complete in five chapters. Other than tweaking it again and editing it for this site, it will not be added to or continued. The unedited version is posted on AO3, if you're interested in all the sexy bits. I'm known as worrywart1966 on that site. PM me here if you can't find the story.**

* * *

Part 1

Hermione shook the water from her brolley just before stepping into the hotel _. Of all the weeks for a stupid retreat,_ she muttered. _Did they even_ look _at the forecast?_

As she stowed her rain gear, a deep voice snarled, "Look, either go in or out. It's bloody raining, and I hate being wet."

Hermione looked up into the face of Severus Snape. "You're a wizard, you git. Cast a charm," she said and whipped open the door—which nearly hit him—and stepped inside.

Severus quickly followed, muttering some more than probably not nice things about Hermione, and the pair approached the counter together.

"Welcome! My name is Natalie, may I help you?" asked the receptionist.

Hermione answered, "We're here with the Ministry Conference Retreat. You're supposed to have rooms? We'll each need one." She nodded toward Severus as she finished.

"I'm sorry; we only have one room and that only because of a last minute cancellation. Which of you wants it?" She looked rather nervously at each of them.

"What do you mean?" growled Severus. "The Ministry was supposed to have booked an entire floor! What the bloody hell did we have to RSVP for if they weren't going to do a head count? Bunch of dunderheads."

Hermione asked if there were any nearby hotels. "I'm sorry," Natalie replied. "The Muggles are having a large sporting event in from the US. Something about football—not our sort—and quarterbacks."

"What's a quarterback?" Hermione asked.

"Musical group, I think. No idea really," Natalie said, shrugging her shoulders. "Anyway, since this is a combo hotel—"

"Combo hotel?" interrupted Severus.

"Muggle/magic. We can only use subtle magic and can't magic up rooms because of the force of the spell required."

Hermione interrupted, "Look, I'm exhausted, wet, and hungry. Just give us the room; we can share for one night. It is a double?"

Natalie eyed them both. "Yeees, for you two it's a double."

Ignoring the strangely voiced answer, Hermione turned to Severus. "You game?"

"As you say, it's only one night. I've been up since dawn, and am exhausted as well. We can deal with this in the morning."

Before they could change their minds, Natalie thrust electronic keys into their hands. "Fifth floor, take the lift on the left. Do you have bags? Shall I call a porter?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "You forget we are magical?"

"Oh, excuse me. Good night then."

As the lift doors closed, two figures swam into view from the office behind the registration desk. "I could get fired for this you know, Mr. Potter," said Natalie.

"Nah. The Minister's in on this too," said Ron Weasley, handing the clerk twenty Galleons.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Those two have been dancing around each other for almost two years now. The Minister said this would be the perfect chance for them to hook up."

"Hook up where?" asked Ron.

"It's a Muggle thing; it means shag each other rotten."

Ron pressed his hands to his eyes. "Oh, the visions! Please, _Obliviate_ me."

"C'mon," Harry laughed, "we need to report to Kings and Minerva that Phase One is complete."

The pair dashed off to another lift while Natalie pocketed her money. She had a feeling the next several days would be entertaining to say the least. Everyone in the magical world, squibs like herself included, knew Hermione Granger and Severus Snape. Both were heroes of the Final Battle, both were wickedly smart and well-known for their work at the Ministry. It wasn't until Harry Potter clued her into their plan, did she realise how perfect they were for each other. As they checked in, she could just see the sexual tension brimming off of them. She couldn't wait until the end of the conference to see the results of their plotting!

 **SSHG SSHG**

Severus and Hermione stood just inside of the door of their room, facing the bed. "It's not a double room," Severus said despondently.

"That's not even a double bed, just a three-quarter one," Hermione moaned. "In fact, this whole room looks like it used to be a large broom cupboard!"

Severus looked to the left and found a door. He went over and opened it. "Well," he said, poking his head inside, "they've managed to put in bath and shower of sorts, a toilet, and the smallest sink I've ever seen."

"Well, thank heaven for that," Hermione said.

Severus turned back into main room, and looked at the bed. "Think we'll fit?"

Determinedly Hermione said, "I will. You've got the floor."

"I will not. Ever since that damn snake bite, I've got a bad back. And besides, there's hardly room enough for us to walk around. Whoever got the bed would trip over whoever is on the floor."

"Well, I'm certainly not sleeping on the floor." She crossed her arms.

Severus glared. "Look, I'm beat, and I don't want to argue. We'll share. After all, we are adults and surely for one night, we can compromise."

Hermione sighed. "Fine." She pulled her bag out of her robe pocket and enlarged it. "I'm going to change and wash up. I'm starved; would you mind ordering something from room service? If they have a soup, I'll have that with some crackers and a drink."

"That's acceptable," replied Severus, pulling out his own bag and enlarging it.

Hermione came out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, dressed in a pair of lounge pants and a vest. She noted Severus was also in lounge pants and a t-shirt, but spied the food sitting on a tray on the small table. "Oh, it smells delicious!"

"They had cream of tomato; I ordered some, too."

"Perfect!" Hermione exclaimed.

The pair ate and chatted about the upcoming conference before finally deciding to go to sleep. After a brief argument about sides, theywere soon asleep, each as close to the edge of the bed as possible.

 **SSHG SSHG**

Hermione was warm and relaxed. The bed, however small, was sinfully comfortable. She snuggled a bit into the mattress and realised that her back was moulded against a very firm body. The previous night, they had gone to sleep back to back, so she wondered at what point Severus curled up around her. He even had an arm around her waist, one hand just cupping her breast. Deciding she was too warm and sleepy to care, she nestled down a bit more, and that's when she realised that while Severus may not be awake, his body definitely was.

"Severus, wake up," she said nudging him a bit.

"No," he said sleepily.

"Severus, you need to roll over." He only groaned in response. Finally deciding to press her point, she wiggled her bottom against his considerable prick. _Well_ , she thought _, this is more than I wanted to know. Maybe._ "Severus, wake up!"

Her wiggling roused his senses, and she giggled when she felt his body stiffen, indicating he realised just why she wanted him to roll over. He quickly flipped over onto his right side, taking all of the covers with him.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay. It happens. Just give me back some of the duvet."

"Yes, well," he muttered, shifting the blankets back over her.

"Go back to sleep, Severus; we've got a couple of hours before we need to get up and head to the first session."

The pair went quickly back to sleep, but Hermione was first up the next morning, taking a quick shower and ordering breakfast from room service for them both while Severus washed up. He was a little reticent to speak to her after the embarrassing moment in bed earlier, answering her questions in monotone. Hermione, however, had no compunction and just carried on as though nothing happened. "What is the first session on the agenda this morning, Severus?" she asked around a mouthful of toast.

Severus, taking his cue from Hermione, took a sip of tea and responded, "The usual shite; 'We're here to build team work, team thinking, blah blah', then I think it breaks up into individual sessions depending on your department or choice."

"I don't suppose we could ditch the conference altogether?"

"That's not a bad idea," Severus said mischievously.

Hermione's eyes gleamed with the thrill of adventure. "What say we just go to the opening boring bit and then take off? Every moderator will think that we're at one of the other sessions, and no one will miss us at all."

"What?" Severus said, his voice exaggerating his tone. "Hermione Granger wants to break the rules?" He clutched his chest in mock horror. "I think I'm having a heart attack."

Waspishly, Hermione said, "Hermione Granger is done being a swot. I could never stand these sorts of sessions in Uni, and I can't stand them now."

Popping the last bit of a croissant into his mouth, he said, "Let's go then. I think there's a new exhibit at the British Museum of History, and the new Wizarding Library at Cambridge has several new archival documents on loan from Alexandria."

Hermione excitedly finished off her pot of fruit. "That sounds perfect! Do you think we could?"

Severus nodded. "Everyone sleeps through these things anyway." He dropped the napkin onto his plate and stood. "You game?"

Hermione hopped off the bed. "I'll meet you in the lobby after the intro!" She snatched up her bag, made sure her wand was stowed within, and the couple left the room.

The pair thought they made a clean getaway, but eyes were upon them. Kingsley, once he was done with the introduction, walked into the lobby in time to see the pair slipping out the back. Smiling, he waded through the crowds, looking for Minerva.

"Minerva!" he called.

Minerva looked up from her brochure. "Good morning, Minister. Have you seen our couple this morning?"

"I did. They were sitting next to each other at the intro and looked like they were plotting. Then I saw them slip away just a moment ago."

"Did you tell Potter and Weasley? They were supposed to tail them today."

"Haven't had a chance, my lady. Besides, do you think either of them would be interested in any place Severus and Hermione would go? More likely they are seeing one of those intellectual places."

Minerva laughed. "Too true! We'll just have to keep an eye out for them to return. Did you speak to the manager about keeping the ruse up about the rooms?"

"Oh, yes. He's heard about them, too. He's instructed the entire staff to go along."

"They'll hex us six ways to Sunday when they find out."

"Let's hope they are too busy to think about it."

"Good day, Minister. The game's afoot!" Minerva crowed.

With a hearty laugh, Kingsley guided Minerva out of the hall, and they split up to their variously chosen sessions.

 **SSHG SSHG**

Hermione never realised what fun Severus could be when he was not around those who knew him as the Death Eater bat of the dungeons. They had Apparated to the British Museum, had a brief tussle over who would pay—Severus, but on the proviso that Hermione would pay for lunch—and they spent a wonderful morning wandering among the relics that were on loan from dig in the Orkney Islands. Hermione was fascinated to learn about the hitherto unknown ancient culture that lived in the outer islands of Northern Scotland, and vowed to visit the actual site herself once the conference was over.

Lunch was spent strolling along the Thames after grabbing some take away at a fish and chip shop. Severus was a bit sulky about not getting his mushy peas, but Hermione stated he simply couldn't eat them and walk at the same time. Once they rid themselves of the greasy aftermath of paper and employing a discreet _Tergeo_ , they were set for the afternoon adventure. Hermione instantly changed their plan to visit the Alexandria documents when Severus shyly admitted he had always wanted to go to the zoo.

Hermione muffled her giggles, staying a few paces behind Severus as they toured the zoo. She was amazed at his nearly ill-controlled delight at the animals. However, she completely lost it when Severus, standing too close to an elephant exhibit, was accosted by a trunk. Had the trunk just sniffed the wizard, all would have been well, but when it latched onto his nose, well, _what's a girl to do?_ wheezed Hermione later when Severus sneered at her laughter.

They enjoyed eating popcorn (Severus) and candy floss (Hermione) as they watched tigers play, giraffes lope, monkeys chatter, and fish swim. They also happened to be in the right place at the right time when they were chosen from among the crowd admiring the panthers to go behind the scenes to play with and feed the panther cubs. Hermione knew she'd always treasure the memory of watching Severus smile and caress the one cub that had fallen asleep in his lap as he fed it.

It was around four in the afternoon when they realized they had better head back to the hotel and sneak into their supposed respective lectures. They Apparated back to the exit door from where they had left, and managed to enter undetected. The lectures finished at five, so they only had to suffer through pompous speakers for a short time.

When each had left their lecture rooms, they met at the main desk to see if there was any change in room status.

"I'm sorry, sir, miss; we are still heavily booked," apologised Natalie, who was on duty again.

"Well, can't you even fit a camp bed or something in there?"

"No," she said, "we've used them all already and as you know since this is a comb—"

"Yes, yes," said Severus. "You're a combo hotel so you can't do magic. Honestly; what Muggle is going to walk past that little broom cupboard you've put us in?"

"I'd lose my job!"

"Severus," Hermione intervened. "Last night was not so bad. We can manage another night. Surely you'll have an opening tomorrow?" Hermione turned to look at Natalie.

"I can't guarantee anything, but as soon as we do, I'll move one of you into the room."

"Thank you," said Hermione, pulling Severus to the lift. They were silent until the lift arrived and they stepped in. Pressing the button for their floor, Severus asked what Hermione wanted to do for dinner.

"We probably ought to attend the meal in the dining room. There'll be cocktails prior, and we can mingle with the others, and then meet up before being seated so that we can coordinate a logical story about where we were. You know, find out where Minerva and Harry were and make sure we were apparently where they were not."

Severus laughed. "I can hardly believe I actually understood what you meant by that convoluted babble. You must be quite tired, as you usually make more sense."

"If we didn't need to make sure our bases were covered, I'd go to sleep straight away. I'm knackered."

"Well, we'll stay at least through pudding and then head up."

Hermione nodded as the lift arrived at their floor. The pair quickly prepared for dinner and were back in the dining room in under an hour. They approached the bar, ordered drinks and then mingled, listening to various conversations.

Dinner was announced, and as the crowd made their way to their assigned seats, Severus and Hermione had a quiet and quick conversation, setting up their stories. It was a good thing they did, for no sooner had they laid their napkins in their laps, than Minerva started to grill them.

"I had a wonderful time in my lecture today," Minerva baited. "What about you all?" She glanced around the table, her eyes settling on Hermione and Severus.

Severus spoke, "I attended a rather dry lecture by some pompous fool on the apparent advances in the use of Scottish heather in headache potions. It is obvious they let any uneducated oaf speak at these things. I easily filled my program with notes on all his incorrect hypotheses."

Minerva's face dropped. Severus could see that she had hoped to catch him fumbling for an explanation, but he smirked when he realised Minerva had not reckoned with his ability to lie to Voldemort while under torture. With less enthusiasm, she asked Hermione about her lecture.

"I was at a briefing on the changes of Wizarding etiquette in light of the inclusion of the newly recognized species of magical beings from the Northern Finnish cultures. Would you believe that the females of that species are not allowed to use the loo if a male is in the loo next door? How on earth one would know that there is a member of the opposite sex in a completely separate bathroom is beyond me." Hermione shrugged and took a bite of her salad.

Ron, Harry, Minerva, and Kingsley looked at each other and then at the couple calmly eating their starters.

"Hermione," began Harry, "what about the afternoon lectures?"

"Oh," said Hermione, "there was nothing I wanted to attend, so I worked on some treatise notes I had in my room."

"And you, Severus?" asked Kingsley.

Glibly, Severus responded, "I was asked to go to the apothecary nearby with Mr. Monnikendam, who owns it. He was having trouble with a potion and asked if I would take a look at it. I solved his problem quickly and then found a library nearby to review some of my notes from my earlier lecture to prove that idiot's theory wrong. It will make a wonderful paper for _Ars Alchemica._ "

Harry look discomfited, and Hermione giggled. As she and Severus had discussed, she knew that the foursome would try to winkle out where they'd been all day, having not seen them in any of their lectures. Following Severus' lead, she concocted a rather boring and convoluted story, knowing the boys would instantly tune out once she went into any lengthy detail. Minerva would be put off as well. She was grateful when Severus turned the focus off of the two of them by mentioning Quidditch. The other four at their table were rabid fans, and Severus knew enough so that he could guide a feigned, enthusiastic conversation. Dinner continued with no further inquiries about the lectures they'd attended.

When it was finished, there was to be a floor show with several comedians, but Severus and Hermione begged off, stating they were tired and wanted to simply relax and read this evening in their room.

"No luck in finding a room?" asked Ron, who smothered a snort and then grunted, "Ow!" at Harry. "What did you do that for?"

"Sorry," he mumbled, "foot slipped." Harry knew Severus was looking at him, and so he asked about the room as well to cover his slip.

"We asked when we left the lectures," Severus stated. "Still no luck. I will be filing a complaint with the hotel _and_ the Ministry," he turned his eyes towards Kingsley, "to wonder why there weren't enough rooms, especially if we had to respond with our intention to attend!"

"Stand down, man," said Kingsley, "it's not my fault there weren't enough rooms. The undersecretary was responsible for that, not me."

"And who is the undersecretary, Kings?" asked Hermione.

"Percy."

"I'll hex that little fink," Hermione said. "No offense, Ronald."

"None taken. He can be a bit of a berk."

Severus stood. "I bid you all good evening," he said and bowed his head in Minerva's direction. "Are you coming, Hermione?"

"I'll be along in a moment. I want to just catch up with Harry and Ron about the kids and Ginny and Lavender."

"Very well." Severus left the room as Hermione asked about the boys' families.

An hour later, Hermione returned to the room and found Severus already lounging on 'his side'. The man had apparently showered and changed for bed and was now reading a book, looking quite comfortable.

"All caught up with the lives and loves of the Dynamic Duo?"

"Severus, be nice!" Hermione laughed. "And yes, I'm all caught up. Ron thinks Lavender is pregnant again, but can't figure out why she hasn't told him, and Harry and Ginny are going on a small vacation to Malta without the kids."

"Molly and Arthur taking the spawn?"

"Yep. I'm going to shower and then read for a bit as well. Will you mind?"

"If you shower? Of course not," he teased, "it'll make sleeping next to you more bearable."

"You git!" laughed Hermione.

"Seriously though, would you mind braiding your hair tonight? I choked on it several times last night."

"I'm sorry. Of course I will." With that, she grabbed her pyjamas and toilet kit and made her way to the bathroom. Once Hermione returned from her bath, hair firmly in a braid, the couple read for about a half hour and then settled down to sleep, again on their respective sides of the bed.

"Night, Sev'rus," mumbled Hermione.

"Good night, Hermione."


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Toward dawn, Hermione began to dream. It was a familiar dream; she was in a forest, but nothing like she experienced during the war. This forest was warm and full of light. There was a grove of trees and within the trees, stood a four poster bed made of light coloured wood and dressed with the loveliest and softest looking white linens and loads of pillows. Netting hung from the posts, adding a rather luxurious feel to the atmosphere. Upon the bed, as usual in her dream, was a dark clad body, which was long and lithe. With a smile, she went to him and was welcomed with a hand reaching toward her. Hermione eagerly grasped the hand, and as the man pulled her down, he kissed her deeply. The kiss set off tingles straight to her toes, and she moaned in pleasure.

The man became bolder in his kiss, and his hands began to pleasure her body, slowly making their way around the apparently familiar curves of her waist and breasts. They stopped at her nipples and plucked them, her moans giving him permission to continue. He feathered the tips of his fingers down her tummy and then farther to cup her between her legs. Her body reacted instinctively, and she arched into the hand.

Severus first became aware of a movement against his body before he heard the moan. As his senses heightened, he was suddenly aware that Hermione must be dreaming and not realising that her hips were arching into his buttocks or that she was moaning. He took a moment to enjoy how her body moulded against his before he realised he shouldn't be lusting after her like this.

"Hermione, wake up!"

She only moaned and ground harder.

"Hermione, you need to wake up now."

"Whu-?" She realised what she was doing and flipped herself away, falling out of bed as a result.

Severus scrambled over to make sure she was all right. Glaring, Hermione stood and stomped off to the bathroom, slamming the door.

"Hermione! I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you fall out of bed. Hermione?"

"I'm okay, Severus. Just my pride."

"Do you want me to order breakfast while you're in there?"

"Yeah, that'll be fine." She heard Severus move away from the door, and then she switched on the shower. She stepped in, and as the water ran down her back, she slapped the wall. She was at once both mortified over the fact she humped her former professor and yet so horny she really did want to jump him. There was no privacy in this small bathroom to use the shower head to alleviate her desire, so she shook her head to clear her thoughts and quickly washed. When she was done, she stepped out of the stall, dried and wrapped the towel around her. She opened the door and told Severus it was his turn. He quickly slipped in, and Hermione dressed for the day. When Severus was done, they switched places, and she attended to her hair while he dressed.

Over breakfast, the tension melted away, much like it had the day before, and the two planned their day. They would take in the exposition at Cambridge and then whatever else might take their fancy. Plans in place, they finished breakfast and slipped away from the crowds chatting in the lobby.

After a long and wonderful day full of sightseeing and the exposition in the museum, they returned to the hotel and first went to the front desk to enquire about an open room. Natalie apologised profusely, but told them that none were available yet. She did notice they weren't too upset to discover they would need to continue to share a room. As Hermione and Severus left the desk, she smiled and giggled. It seemed the Minister's plan was coming to fruition. The staff who were 'in on it' reported all sorts of things they had noticed. The house elf who cleaned their room had told her that there was no sign of anyone sleeping on the floor or having transfigured any furniture into a bed. In fact, the elf had founds loose hairs from them both on their pillows.

Natalie turned to attend her next job duty, but spied the conspirators and waved them over to her desk. "I have news," she told them.

"And?" asked Harry.

"The elves reported that there has been no magic in the room indicating that the bed or other furniture has been converted. In fact, hair from both of them has been found on the pillows in the bed."

"But one of them could be sleeping on the floor," interjected Ron.

Natalie shook her head. "The elf found no reason to believe that a pallet had been made on the floor, either."

Harry and Ron looked at each other and smiled. "Let's go find Minerva," Harry said, and the pair hurried away.

That night, Severus and Hermione decided to eat dinner again with Harry, Ron, Minerva and Kingsley. Bravely, they bemoaned the lack of extra room when Harry asked about it. Minerva inquired which lectures they'd been attending—knowing full well they had skived off again—and was bemused when Severus deflected the question by asking which ones they had attended and deftly made sure he and Hermione were apparently at ones they were not.

Harry and Ron expressed amusement over the fact that neither had killed the other yet; they knew from their year on the run Hermione could get rather…testy if she didn't sleep well.

Once the couple were in the room after dinner, they had decided they'd better spend some time at the lectures, so they reviewed the programme together. Severus decided to attend the lecture on updates in patent registrations—he had several coming due—and Hermione chose the one about changes to import/export laws. They were required to attend the trust building workshop at the end of the day, and thought it would be an easy way to end the day with little headache.

 **SSHG SSHG**

"Severus, Hermione," cried Minerva the next morning. "You've actually decided to honour us with your attendance!"

"Having to share a room has caused our routines to become…entangled," Severus dryly stated. "We've not had time to attend meals here before our first lectures."

Harry and Ron snorted as Minerva said, "I'm sure."

Hermione, suspicious over the others' demeanour, briskly asked what was tasty on the menu in order to avoid questions. Breakfast continued quietly and before long, the group was splitting up to attend their programs.

After lunch, Severus and Hermione met up at the one lecture they were mandated to attend. It was an exercise in team building, which was to slated to start in Kew Gardens. The leader instructed all the participants to Apparate to the secure arrival location just south of the gardens. The group should plan to meet up in twenty minutes at the starting point. Severus and Hermione walked together to the Apparition point in the hotel and, after a brief conversation, side-alonged to the gardens.

"We should have come here yesterday," said Hermione. "It's gorgeous, isn't it?"

"We could go this weekend if you'd like. I'm sure there are some cuttings I could acquire."

Hermione snorted. "Leave it to you to find a practical purpose for an afternoon together."

"I believe the zoo was _not_ practical."

Hermione laughed as the pair made their way to starting point indicated on their brochure. There were many people they knew all milling about and chatting while waiting for the leader to arrive. Hermione noticed Harry, Ron, Minerva, and Kingsley and with a nudge of her elbow, directed Severus over to them.

The leader of the session gathered them together, introduced himself as Bert Boldt, and began to explain the object of the lesson. "Often times, we feel that we can count on our friends to have our backs, so to speak, at every moment. In war, as many of you experienced, this is true. However, if you're disabled in some way that caused your friend to have to act in a more…intimate way, how would you respond? Do you trust your partners enough to lead you from danger you can't see?" Boldt looked around and saw many snickers and smiles.

"That's the response I usually get. Well, I'm about to change that perception. When you have two eyes, you can see and understand what's about to happen. Even if you only had one—now, now, hold it down," he said over the jovial mutters of 'Moody' and 'Mad-eye'. "I know that with magic we can restore eye sight but only if you are at St. Mungo's or have access to another well-qualified healer. But in the field, where you'd have the most rudimentary of healing spells, you wouldn't."

The leader magicked up enough blindfolds for eighteen of the thirty-six in attendance. "I want you to double up. That's it," he said as he watched friends stand next to each other. With a glint in his eye, he watched Hermione and Severus continue to stand near each other while they were apparently overlooked as potential partners. _Kingsley has planned this exercise out very well indeed,_ he thought.

"Everyone have their partners? Good! Now," he sent the blindfolds into the crowd with a flick of his wrist, "place the blindfold over your partner's eyes, and don't hesitate to use a bit of magic to ensure they can't see."

"Mr. Boldt," hollered Ron, "why don't we just use a magical blindfold?"

"Good question, Weasley," Boldt responded. "Since we're doing the exercise in a Muggle dominated area, we don't want the Muggles to think we're showing blind students around, the blindfold makes it obvious that we are conducting some sort of exercise. Now, about those objectives I mentioned." He flicked his wrist and a stack of parchment appeared in his hand.

"I want each of the sighted partners to take this paper and follow the instructions. You will lead your partner through a series of activities that will require you to direct them over, under, in and out of buildings or other obstacles. You must guide them by voice and with gestures to help them navigate. You will even be required to help them eat a meal. The morning group enjoyed the exercise very much."

By this time, Severus snorted. "Oh, this is too easy; I was a spy for Merlin's sake. I am trained to use my senses if others are impaired."

"Yes, but you often relied on yourself. Now you have to rely on me."

"Well, there are worse things, I suppose."

"Really, Severus? You trust me that much that I wouldn't let you topple over into a dust bin or trip into a hole?"

"I'd trust you. If I were with Potter or Weasley…"

Hermione laughed again. "Well, come along then." She slipped her hand into Severus' and was momentarily discomfited to realise how well her hand fit into his palm. She was speechless when she felt his thumb caress the back of her hand. She cleared her throat, "Come on. I need to get you over to the first objective on the sheet here. Goodness, that's quite a circuitous route. It would be easier if we went—"

Her contemplation was cut off by Mr. Boldt. "I'm sorry, Miss Granger, but part of the exercise involves following the plan specifically. We included obstacles that will require the most communication in order for you to convey your partner safely back to this spot at the end of their turn."

Hermione sighed but shook her head. "All right. Are you ready, Severus?" He nodded, and with a firm but reassuring tug on his hand, she led him away from the meeting place.

The route from the Green led them over several different surface textures such as stone, grass and a thick layering of pine straw, all of which caused Severus to stumble at first, but his innate sense of self and ability to use his other senses under adverse conditions had him righting himself and moving with ease in no time. Hermione, in the meantime, kept up a quiet patter of 'left' or 'right' as needed as well as squeezes of his hand to direct him quite well.

The first obstacle came when they encountered the Log Trail, a play area made of irregularly shaped pavers of cut logs of varying widths as well as full logs leaning against other logs. There were gaps between the logs, meaning that Hermione not only had to give him an idea of how large the step was, but how far between each step he'd need to let his foot travel before stepping down again. Once or twice, Severus lost his footing, but Hermione was there to quickly help him steady himself. When they were a quarter of the way along the trail, they fell into a pattern of 'step, step, hold, lift' so that Severus could walk unimpeded.

"Are you okay, Severus?" asked Hermione as they walked along a relatively smooth bit of pavement.

"I'm all right. Are we near Queen Charlotte's Cottage by chance?"

"Why yes we are! How could you tell?"

Instead of answering straight away, he asked, "What do you see?"

"The lavender, of course and an expanse of grass. There's a lovely thatched cottage, and the bright blue sky."

"Exactly. I can see none of that. I can, however, hear the bees pollinating among the blossoms and of course, smell the lavender. Having been here once before, I remembered the Queen's Cottage was near a field of lavender."

"Oh, there _are_ bees. And lots of them. Oh, hey, I think they like my perfume, they're starting to fly near."

"Let's get out of here then. I don't fancy getting stung. Where to next?"

"I'm not supposed to tell you," she giggled. Tugging slightly on his hand, she pulled him forward on their way.

After a ten minute walk, the pair arrived at the Tree Top Walkway. "Oh wow!" said Hermione.

"What?"

"We're at the Tree Top Walkway!"

"What is that?"

"The Gardens built it several years ago. It's a way to see the garden and tree top habitat from above. We've got to climb 115 or so steps, Severus; are you up to it?"

"I will forgive you that horrible pun firstly. Secondly, you forget I lived in a castle with 142 sets of staircases? That I patrolled nightly for nearly twenty years?"

Hermione huffed good-naturedly and pulled him forward. "Here's the first step then. The steps are about seven inches apart. There are rails on both sides. Traffic has to go all one way, so we won't have to worry about running into anyone."

For several minutes they climbed, Severus stumbling several times, but Hermione, who had her hand on his arm the entire time, never let him fall. She noted he was stiff the first time he stumbled, but as he realised she was there, he relaxed. They stepped out onto the platform and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, Severus; it's simply lovely!"

"I'll take your word for it," he said dryly.

"Well, Mr. I-Was-A-Spy-And-Used-All-My-Senses, tell me what you sense then."

Severus pinched her arm and turned to his right. "We are up quite high, and the walkway sways ever so slightly. I can smell more natural scents."

"Natural scents?" Hermione asked.

"At ground level there are more human produced smells such as food, cars, body odour."

"Ew."

"Up here, though, the human produced smells are filtered by the leaves naturally, so there are less of them and more of the environmentally natural smells. The trees, the air, that sort of thing."

"What do you hear?"

"Birds of course, insects flying. The leaves rustling."

"It's peaceful, actually, don't you think?"

"Yes, it is. Hermione, let me attempt to walk without you guiding me."

"Okay. The path is about four feet across and there are rails on either side."

"Of course there are rails."

Hermione chuckled as Severus began to walk alone. He weaved back and forth, running into the rail at first, before he seemed to sense his surroundings and began to walking steadily forward. Until the first bend in the path and then he ran a hip into the corner of a rail.

"Can I at least keep my hand on your arm?" asked Hermione as she watched Severus rub his hip.

"That might be best."

Without further difficulty, they managed the rest of the Tree Top walkway and the trip down, which was a bit more difficult than the trip up. Severus' feet were longer than the tread, and he tended to drop a foot off before the other followed. It was only by Hermione's constant patter of 'down, down, down' and her hand firmly held within his, that he made it.

"Our next task is a cup of tea and something to eat," she said. "There's a café about one hundred yards to the north; we'll go there, okay?"

"That sounds fine. I could use a cuppa about now. Can I take my blindfold off?"

Hermione consulted the paper. "No. According to the parchment, you must try to eat with it on."

Severus growled. "Let's go then and get this over. How many more tasks?"

"This is the last one. Once we eat, we are to go back to the starting point where, oh," she gasped.

"What's the matter?"

"It says here we trade places. You'll lead me on a similar exercise, only one or two of the tasks are different."

Severus laughed. "I shall take good care of you, I promise."

"Why do I suspect you're lying?"

"Me? Lie? I'm appalled you'd even think so," Severus stated dramatically.

"Oh, come along you," said Hermione.

As they entered the café, Hermione noted that several others from the conference were already there. "Oh, Minerva is here with Kingsley. He must have fallen as there is a grass stain on his robes. Wonder why Minerva didn't clean it? And there are Ron and Harry. We didn't see them on our route." Hermione waved to the others. "Ron has a scrape on his nose although it doesn't surprise me if Harry let him bump into something on purpose." Hermione was right, as she discovered later, that Harry wasn't as careful with Ron as she was with Severus. Not that she'd let him come to harm. She cared too much for him. That particular thought startled her, and as she began to dwell on it, Severus interrupted her.

"Well, I would imagine they'd keep us separated in order not to slow down the other patrons in the gardens by our bumbling around."

"Good point," she said distractedly. "What do you want to eat?"

"Just a cup of tea and a pastry of some sort."

Hermione guided Severus to a table and as he sat, she hurried off to get their snack. She returned with two cups of tea, a tart for herself and a croissant and jam for Severus.

"I've set your cup at two o'clock, and the plate with the croissant directly in front of you. There is some jam. Do you want to try to spread it yourself?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I've laid a knife to the right of the plate and opened the tub of jam. I've put that at the nine o'clock position on your plate."

As though he could see, Severus picked up the croissant and tore a bit from the bread. He then set it down and picked up his knife. Using his left hand to steady the little tub of jam, he dipped his knife into it. He picked up the bit of roll with this free hand and spread the jam on it. Or at least he thought he did.

"Erm, Severus; there's no jam on the knife."

Huffing, he tried again and was successful. He laid down the knife and picked up the tea, taking a bracing sip. "That's lovely. What are you having?"

"A custard tart," she replied as she watched Severus' hands manage another bit of roll and jam. _Gods he has such sexy hands_ , she thought and then shoved a piece of tart into her mouth before she did something embarrassing like moan.

Hermione watched Severus as he managed the croissant and his cup of tea. Even blindfolded he was precise and elegant. _Damn it all to hell,_ she muttered as she finally admitted to herself that she fancied the man. The events of this week had caused her to see him in a whole other light—one that she liked very much. She wondered if he felt the same or would even consider at least going on a date with her. A red blob on his chin distracted her train of thought.

"Got some jam on you," said Hermione.

"Where?"asked Severus, wiping his face.

"On your chin...no, to the left," she directed.

"Did I get it?"

"No, let me." She carefully wiped his chin with her thumb and then gasped when he grabbed her hand and sucked the jam off, his lips warm and wet, and his tongue rough against her skin as he worked the jam off. Her belly flopped, and she was certain if he'd kept it up, she'd have an orgasm.

"Why did you do that?" she asked in a whisper.

Severus paled and immediately pushed away from the table. "I don't know," he gruffly answered. "I think," he paused to clear his throat, "I think we should head back to the meeting point to continue the exercise."

"All right."

Quietly and uncomfortably, they left the café and quickly made their way back to the starting point. There were no obstacles to travel so they made it back rather quickly. Once Severus took off his blindfold, he made an excuse to use the bathroom, and the pair separated, both needing a bit of time to compose themselves.

 **SSHG SSHG**

Back at the café, Minerva and Harry were reacting to the scene that had played out before them. Harry—borrowing Ron's favourite phrase—stammered out, "Bloody hell."

"What? What's bloody hell?" asked Ron, looking around as though he could see something.

"What happened, Minerva?" Kingsley's deep voice asked.

"I don't know," said Minerva carefully. "Hermione and Severus were having tea a few tables over from us. Severus got some jam on his chin, and Hermione tried to tell him where it was. He kept missing it with his hand, so Hermione reached over and…" her voice trailed off.

Harry audibly gulped and finished the story. "Hermione used her thumb to wipe it off, and Snape grabbed her hand and then sucked the jam off her thumb."

Ron rubbed his eyes through the blindfold. "Visions, Harry, visions. Please, someone, _Obliviate_ me!"

Kingsley shifted in his chair. "But this is what we wanted, wasn't it? Those two are sexual tension personified, and it's just waiting to explode. Why is that a bad thing?"

Minerva spoke, "Yes we did, but to observe something so…so… _sensual_ was a bit disturbing."

"But, Minerva," Harry asked, "why did they look so flustered?"

"Because, Mr. Potter, I suspect they are only coming to terms with their feelings for each other, and they didn't expect their reactions to be so visceral."

Kingsley slowly stood up using the table to guide him. "Either way, it's a start. Where they go from here is up to them. However with a little more pushing from us, I suspect it won't be much longer until they decide one way or the other. Now," he stated, turning his head as though he could see the exit, "let's get back to the meeting point so I can get this ruddy blindfold off, and we switch roles."

"Switch roles?" asked Minerva.

"Didn't you hear Boldt say that we'd switch roles after a tea break? I, my dear lady, get to escort you around the grounds next."

Ron laughed. "Watch out Harry! It'll be payback time for my nose!"

"Bloody hell," Harry moaned.

 **SSHG SSHG**

Severus stood at the sink washing his hands. If he weren't in a public place, he'd be smacking his forehead into the mirror. When he had first entered a stall, he had had to calm his burgeoning erection in order to piss.

 _Why in the name of Merlin's left tit did I do that?!_ his mind screamed. _Okay, yes, I fancy the woman. Sleeping next to her these last few nights has been both torture and pure bliss. She's smart, funny, sexy, intelligent, and so not my student anymore._ He looked at his face in the mirror. _My mum always said, I'm not the prettiest pumpkin in the patch, but I am worth something to someone._ Would Hermione see him as worth something?

He turned around and leant against the sink. _Would she ever consider going on a date? She_ did _imply that she wouldn't mind coming back here to see the Gardens again. Perhaps I could ask formally?_ Shaking his head and realising he'd spent too much time in the loo, he stalked out to find Hermione and finish the exercise.

Hermione, in the meantime, had finished her toilet needs and was pacing outside, not far from the bathrooms. She was confused. Severus had not given her any other reason to believe he might be interested in anything more than a friendship this week. Yes, they'd shared a bed in the literal sense, and yes, they had fun ditching the sessions, but once the conference ended, what then? Would they go back to their Ministry jobs and the occasional interaction those jobs entailed? Would they go back to simply nodding in the halls as they passed each other?

She wrung her hands as she always did when she was nervous. _Wait a minute!_ He implied they would be coming back to the Gardens this weekend. Perhaps she could hedge the subject around and get a formal arrangement made? Her worry eased a bit. Yes, that's what she'd do, and perhaps from it, maybe more would happen.

Oh, but the feel of his mouth on her thumb. When he sucked, the feeling shot straight from her thumb to her quim. She wanted nothing more than for him to keep sucking that thumb and making her knickers even wetter, a fact she had discovered when she began to walk from the café. She spied him leaving the men's loo, and the sight caught her breath. _Sex on legs,_ she thought. _I will so not make it to the end of this retreat without some 'alone' time._

"Are you okay, Hermione? You look flushed," Severus asked as he approached her.

"Oh, yes. Yes, I'm fine. Just a bit worried that you'll walk me into a pond or something," she bluffed.

"Ever the trusting soul, aren't you?" He smiled and just like that, the tension between them melted.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Hermione's hand was held firmly in Severus' as he led her along a similar course to the one she had led him. The Log Trail was easy enough, but Hermione had a bit of trouble with the Tree Top Walkway. It turned out she was afraid of heights, and the sensation of being so high and feeling the bridge sway slightly immobilised her. Severus had to put his arm around her waist and guide her along the path. She had relaxed enough in his arms to be able to at least use her other senses to hear and smell some of what Severus had spoken of earlier. Neither noticed that they had spent a bit more time on the walkway than when Severus was blindfolded, nor did they notice that they stood back to front, Severus' arms around Hermione as she listened with her senses.

Once at the bottom, Severus led her back toward Queen Charlotte's Cottage, but veered a bit so that they arrived at the Badger Sett.

"Mind your head," he said. "Can you guess where you are?"

It took Hermione a moment to acclimate. "It's a bit more humid, so perhaps underground? Kew doesn't have a reptile exhibit, so I know we're not there."

Severus snorted. "Like I would go to a snake house."

"Of course not," Hermione laughed. "I feel, or rather hear, that I'm walking on dirt." Her hands reached out to feel around her. "The ceiling is quite low, and the walls feel like there are plant and tree roots in them."

"Any idea yet?" Severus asked.

"Other than underground, no."

"The Badger Sett."

"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed. "I didn't put it together because it's more of a children's exhibit."

They pair explored the area a bit, Severus taking care that Hermione didn't trip as they wandered through the sett. He gave a running commentary on the displays within the exhibit as well as guided her along with quiet direction.

When they left the exhibit, Hermione observed that the outside air was warmer and quite welcome after the cool, humid air of the badger's home. "Where to next?" she asked.

Severus consulted his paper. He was supposed to take her to another area where she'd need to climb and crawl through, but he didn't want her to do that. He, in an effort to perhaps sway her feelings for when he asked her out this weekend—and he had made up his mind to do so—simply said, "This way."

They walked for five minutes or so and stopped. Hermione heard water flowing and could smell fragrant blooms. "Oh, Severus; it smells wonderful! Where are we?"

"The Queen's Garden."

"I don't remember seeing that on the list."

"I must have misread it then. We should be at the compost heap. Let's go." He pretended to pull her as though to leave, but stopped when she laughed.

"This is a lovely surprise, Severus. Please, let's look around. Erm, well, _you_ look around, and I'll fumble along behind you."

"No worries, madam," Severus said in a stately manner. "I shall hold your hand without letting go and guide you along. I shall also help you identify some of the flowers."

Hermione mock curtsied. "Thank you, kind sir. I accept your lead."

They started along one of the paths, Severus pointing out various blooms, and letting her touch and attempt to identify various grasses growing in the garden. He related the history of the garden, and when he explained the flowers to Hermione, he was sure to include the common name from the seventeenth century, the virtue associated with it, and the author from the book the virtue was quoted from.

They had spent so much time in the garden, there was not time for Hermione to experience eating while blindfolded, but the couple wasn't too fussed. They arrived back to the meeting spot in time to join their friends and have a bit of fun relating their adventures.

Mr. Boldt called the group together and with a few parting words, wished them well and hoped they'd enjoy the dancing after dinner this evening. Minerva, Hermione and several other women excitedly began to talk about the evening while the men rolled their eyes and groused over the fact they'd more than likely have to spend the evening in uncomfortable clothes and actually dance.

The group began to Apparate back to the hotel in pairs. As they arrived, they split up, each heading to their rooms to rest and prepare for dinner and the entertainment for the evening.

Hermione flopped onto the bed as soon as she and Severus got to their room. "You go ahead and shower if you want," Hermione said. "I'm going to have a quick nap. Be sure to wake me up so I can clean up before dinner!"

"I will," he said and grabbed his clothes and toiletry kit.

He was cleaned and ready to go in about a half and hour. He only needed to don his dinner jacket, which he had left on a chair near the bed. Opening the bathroom door, he could see Hermione still asleep on the bed. She was on her stomach, her head turned to her left.

 _She is beautiful_ , he thought. Even through her clothes, he could see her thin waist and the curvy hips he had felt when waking up with his arm around her. Her face was perfect, no scars from spots as a teenager, and her lips were slightly pouty. She was frowning slightly, and he wondered if she was dreaming. He also wondered what it would be like to kiss her. At the idea, he felt a tightening in his pants and knew he'd better curb his thoughts before he made an arse of himself.

Things between him and Hermione were progressing nicely, he thought. He was not going to push her and destroy any progress toward friendship they had made. If something more came later, then that'd be fine as well. Decision made, he gently shook Hermione's shoulder.

"Hermione, wake up." She grumbled and turned her head further into the pillow. Severus shook her again. "Hermione, you told me to wake you up so do you could get ready for dinner."

"Okay," she mumbled. Rolling onto her back, she rubbed her eyes and then sat up. "Oh, you look lovely," she said as she looked Severus in his finery.

"Hardly lovely. You must still be sleep addled."

"No, Severus, I'm not. You look quite dapper this evening."

"You said 'lovely'," he grumped.

Hermione laughed. "I'll be ready about twenty minutes. Will you wait or are you going to go down for a fortifying drink before you need to play nice with the other men?"

"I always play nice, madam."

"Go on with you. I know you want to." She waved him away.

"I will meet you downstairs then, in the dining room."

He grabbed his dinner jacket and was donning it as Hermione shut the door behind him. She leant against it and sighed. She was not going to make it through this evening if he continued to look so good. She laughed ruefully. Black _was_ his colour, she'd admit, but overall, as she got to know the person behind the man called Severus Snape, she realised he was so handsome in her eyes. Stepping away from the door, she grabbed her things, and with a smile thought, _two can play at this game._

 **SSHG SSHG**

Because the Ministry retreat was being housed at a combo hotel, Muggles were also in attendance in the dining room and as a result, no magic was allowed. The room held not only the Ministry members, but also some of the men who were in England for the American football game.

However, magic allowed or not didn't stop Severus from wanting to hex every man in the room when Hermione walked in. Her entrance was brought to his attention when Harry, standing next to him at the bar, gasped, "Hermione!" Severus turned and was dumbfounded. Where had that dress been in her luggage? She only had had that tiny purple beaded thing when they checked in. He also noticed that most of the men in the room were looking at the beautiful woman in the entryway.

She wore the loveliest gown he'd ever seen, and that was saying something after seeing Narcissa Malfoy trot out creation after creation from the most well-known of Paris fashion houses. It was medium grey, and in the style Severus knew to be an empire waist. The skirt of organza fell in pleats from the satin band at her high waist to where it just dusted the floor. It swayed as she moved and although it hid the curves he knew were there, it made her the sexiest woman in the room. The bodice of lace with a crystal overlay was sleeveless, and the neckline low enough to just expose the tops of her breasts. When she turned around to speak to Minerva, Severus noted the ornate medallion in the middle of her back between her shoulder blades seemed to be in the Slytherin house crest. Was she trying to send him a message or was the light playing tricks on his eyes?

Around him, he heard whispers of 'who's that bird?' in gauche American accents, attempting to sound British, and 'I've never seen Hermione look so beautiful' by their group of friends. He laughed when he heard a few catty remarks from the younger women in the group.

Making up his mind that he would not allow her to be swept away by any other man in the room, he put his drink down and walked over to her. "Hermione, you look exquisite this evening." He bowed rather courtly in her direction. "Minerva, you look lovely as well," he said, remembering his manners in time.

Minerva chuckled, "Oh, Severus, you lie through your crooked teeth, but thank you. You've seen this robe on me at nearly every feast and ball the school has had for nigh on twenty years." She smiled when she realised Severus hadn't heard her. She saw that Severus had no eyes for her or anything else in the room. Voldemort himself could have stormed in, and Severus wouldn't have been distracted. Quietly leaving the pair, she hurriedly made her way over to Kingsley, Ron, and Harry.

"I do believe the final phase of our plan has begun," she crowed to them.

"How so?" asked Ronald.

Harry, who often was quicker on the uptake, pointed to the couple and said, "Ron, look; they've not taken their eyes off each other since she came in the room. She looks beautiful, doesn't she?"

Kingsley agreed. "That she does. We don't see what a lovely woman Hermione is because she is just 'one of the boys' at work. I hope Severus realises what a treasure that lady is."

Ronald spoke, but in a melancholy way. "She _is_ a treasure. Too bad I didn't see that until it was too late."

"Do you regret breaking up with her?" asked Harry.

Ron shook his head. "No. We're better off as friends. I never was able to treat her or see her as a woman, you know? She had been part of my life since I was eleven. She was always 'Hermione' to me. Sort of sexless. I'm putting it badly."

"I don't think you're putting it badly, Ronald," said Kingsley. "It's part of why we often take advantage of our friends; they become extensions of ourselves, and we forget that they can be vibrant individuals with minds and wants and needs separate from our own."

"Severus will treat her as the woman she is and will love her for the rest of his life, if things go that way," said Minerva.

Kingsley offered his glass. "A toast to Severus and Hermione; may tonight be a start of something wonderful for the two of them."

The other three hoisted their glasses and with happy hearts, toasted the couple.

 **SSHG SSHG**

After realising that he was staring, Severus pulled his gaze away and began to lead Hermione to a table in the centre of the room. Once at the table, they noticed that they were again seated with Minerva and Kinglsey. Severus scowled when he noticed they were not seated next to each other.

"If you think I'm sitting next to Umbridge, you've got another thing coming," Severus snarled as he pointed to his place card and the one beside his. He had no compunction about rearranging the seats and hoped that Minerva would forgive him one day for putting the toad next to her. He moved Hermione's place card next to his plate. "That's better," he stated and pulled the chair next to his out so that Hermione could sit.

"Oh, Severus, Minerva will kill you!" she giggled.

"Like she hasn't tried before," he smirked. They looked at each other for several long moments before Severus cleared his throat and asked, "Would you like a drink?"

"Yes, please. Some white wine."

Severus nodded his understanding and made his way toward the bar. He was suddenly reminded of those foolish black and white films on the telly his old man used to watch—the ones where the love struck swain would comically pull at his neckline after speaking to a beautiful woman. Severus understood the reaction now. He had never been this flustered before, but then again, he'd never had the privilege to attend to the needs of a beautiful woman, who, from what he could gather, was probably very interested in _him_.

While Severus was at the bar, Hermione took a moment to compose herself. She had never, ever been looked at with such want before, with such fathomless longing. Oh, he wanted her all right and just as much as she wanted him. She could only hope she wouldn't blow both the evening and what might come of it by doing something juvenile. She had to admit: she was falling for the man and hoped that after tonight things would be settled for them, either as firm friends or at the threshold of something long lasting and wonderful between them.

Dinner came and went quickly. After a small kerfuffle over the seating and a concealed _Confundus_ in Umbridge's direction—the origin of which went unasked—conversation between Hermione and Severus as well as the others never dulled, and laughter came easily for all. They all pointedly ignored Dolores, but as she was busy meticulously counting the threads of her linen napkin, she didn't appear too upset.

After the meal was done, there was an announcement that the waiting staff would be removing a few of the tables to make room for dancing. Smaller tables would be placed around the room so that those who wished to sit would be able to. Severus immediately asked Hermione for the first dance and was happy when she said yes.

As they waited for the dance floor and orchestra to set up, they mingled with the others, and Hermione felt Severus' hand always at her back, warm and comforting. She smirked as she realised that in his way, he was warning the other men off. It was a little heady, to be honest, to have a man behave so possessively toward her. Hermione was an independent woman to be sure, but she felt secure and happy with this man, and his apparent possessive streak was not unwelcome. She was strong enough to let him know when it became obsessive, and she felt he knew that too.

Severus' thoughts were of much the same vein. As they chatted with their co-workers, he watched the other men in the room gazing at Hermione. He was sure to keep his hand on her back at all times, a universal signal to other men that this woman is mine, back off. He felt like an idiot for acting in such a caveman way, and hoped that Hermione would forgive him, but each time the beautiful woman looked up at him, he felt more possessive. She seemed to welcome this, but he also knew she would tell him when it became too much. He admired that in her; she was confident with whom she was and could fight for herself, yet feminine enough to remember that she was a woman.

The band finished tuning, and with a flourish of violin music, swung into a lovely waltz and the dancing began.

"Shall we?" asked Severus.

"I'd love to!" responded Hermione, and the pair, hand in hand, stepped onto the dance floor, assumed the standard waltz position, and were soon whirling around the area. Although they had started in the time-honoured, dance-lesson-learned position, it wasn't long before Severus had pulled her closer, and she didn't pull away.

Although Hermione had only promised one dance to Severus, they never parted when the first waltz was finished. Severus only allowed Potter, Weasley, or Kingsley to cut in. Several of the American men tried, but Severus politely said, or rather growled, that the lady had promised every dance to him. With ease, they talked, laughed, or were comfortably silent together.

The evening passed quickly for the couple. The final song, a rather long waltz, was being played as Hermione and Severus swayed together on the dance floor. Their formal waltz position had long been since abandoned for the intimacy of as much body connection as possible. This had not gone unnoticed by the four conspirators gathered at a corner table in the darkened room.

"Do you think they'll be down for breakfast, Minerva?" asked Kingsley.

"Visions, Kings!" gasped Ron, rubbing his eyes. " _Obliviate_ me, please!"

Harry laughed at Ron's behaviour. "Now, now, Ron; this is what we planned. I'm not keen on knowing the two might do the horizontal tango later either, but it's what we hoped for!"

The foursome looked on as Hermione threw her head back and laughed at something Severus had said, and then watched as the pair continued to smile and talk.

"Severus?"

"Hmm," answered Severus lazily.

"Where has this person been?" asked Hermione.

"What person, Hermione?"

"The one I've known for the past three days. You're so relaxed, easy going, fun…handsome," her voice trailed off.

Severus pulled back to look at her a moment. _Handsome? She thinks I'm handsome?_ "That person was hidden for twenty some odd years. I could involve no one in my life without having them become vulnerable, so I had no one. I had a difficult childhood and that formed much of who I was, but you know all that already. The past five years, however, have been healing years for me. It has been easier to become more relaxed and enjoy things, to form friendships. To live and enjoy life."

Hermione asked earnestly, "Am I a friend?"

"I've been sleeping with you, therefore I'd say so," he snarked.

"You git!" she laughed and pinched him.

Severus laughed and pulled her closer. "You _are_ a friend, Hermione, a good friend."

"Thank you." She snuggled her cheek against his chest. If she had hoped he'd say he wanted more than friendship, she did not let him see it. She would let him take the lead. She would not force him into anything; he'd had too much of that in his life. However, if he offered, she'd certainly not say no.

The band finished with a cresendo, and the remaining dancers showed their appreciation with a round of applause. Good nights were said all around, and Hermione and Severus slowly made their way, hand in hand, to the lift.

* * *

 **A/N: I know that some of the exhibits I've used from Kew Gardens, that Severus and Hermione had to navigate while blindfolded, may not have been in place in the early 2000's which is the indeterminate time I've placed this story. I took creative license for this story.**


	4. Chapter 4

Ahead are lemons. They're pretty lemony, although I did edit out the more vulgar references. This story is posted, unedited, on AO3 (worrywart1966), if you're interested.

* * *

Part 4

"I'm exhausted," commented Hermione. "My feet are killing me."

"You are a witch, are you not?" asked Severus. "Do you not know how to charm on your shoes?" Hermione blushed and Severus laughed. "You're impossible," he said.

"And you're incorrigible," she teased back.

The ride in the lift was silent and as silently the pair entered their room, taking turns changing their clothes. Once settled in bed, they lay on their backs and did not speak. Hermione turned onto her side, facing Severus.

Quietly she spoke, "I had the best time this week, Severus. Did you?"

Severus turned to face her. "I did."

They just looked at each other a moment before Hermione, forgetting she was going to let him take the lead, asked, "You said we were friends—is there any chance of our being more? "

Without warning, Severus leant toward Hermione and kissed her. It was chaste, but not brief. When he pulled away, he realised what he had done, and with regret filling his eyes, he rolled over. "I'm sorry," he said.

Hermione pulled him back to her. "No, don't be."

"So if I did it again, you wouldn't mind?"

She answered by leaning closer, and he met her half way. As they kissed, he pulled her until she was near enough for him to swing a leg over hers and press her more firmly against him. She purred in appreciation, and he took that opportunity to press his tongue into her mouth and sweep away all doubts of what this was between them.

Hermione revelled in the feel of his lips on hers. They were thin, but warm. They pressed firmly, but did not bruise the delicate tissue. His tongue was strong and demanding as he played with hers, learning what parts of her mouth were sensitive. Before the sensation became too much, she felt him begin to kiss his way toward her ear. When he licked the upper part, she giggled and said, "I don't care for that too much." Of course, he smirked and did it again before moving down to a spot just behind the lobe that caused her fingers to clutch him and her body to squirm.

"I take it _that_ is okay?"

"Very okay," she panted. "More please."

With a deep, chocolaty sounding chuckle, he did 'more'. He kissed and licked the spot and then began to suck on it, driving Hermione absolutely wild. She ground instinctively against him, her breathing becoming laboured as her desire increased.

Severus drew away. "Well, if that's your reaction to a simple kiss on your neck, I hesitate to think of your reaction if I kissed you elsewhere."

Hermione smiled and said, "Don't think, just kiss."

Severus, always keen to follow good advice, did stop thinking and did, indeed, kiss her, only this time, he moved from her love-bitten neck to her collar bone and points south. As he kissed her, his warm, large and elegant hands had moved under her shirt and were caressing her smooth skin. "You're so soft," he whispered. "I can't believe you're here with me like this." He kissed her, his tongue licking at her lips so she'd open up and let him explore again. His hands began to caress the underside of a breast, and he pulled away briefly to say, "Shirt off." With Hermione's help, they had it off in a trice.

He pulled back to admire the woman next to him. In the moonlight that shone in through the window of the room, her skin glowed. Her breasts were lovely globes of creamy flesh that, although she was lying on her back and had a moderately large bust, still maintained their shape, which was more than a handful. With his fingers, he delicately traced the underside of one breast, repeating the caress in any spot where Hermione's soft sigh indicated it was pleasurable. "What's this?" he asked, as his fingers, tracing down her belly, discovered she had pierced her belly button.

"I had it done a year or so ago. Do you like it?"

Severus scooted down to look at the delicate pendant that hung from the top of her navel. There was a small ring piercing the skin, and from it hung the teardrop shape with a green emerald at the base.

"Any particular reason for the colour of the pendant?" he asked.

"I liked it." Hermione answered with a shrug. "No particular reason."

"I am fond of the colour green as well. I think I am fond of this too," he said, tugging it gently, placing a gentle kiss upon the skin nearby and resuming his exploration of the woman beneath him.

While Severus was learning what pleased Hermione, she was learning the lean form that was Severus Snape. He had short, dark, soft hair on his chest that covered his pectoral muscles from his collar bone to a few inches below his breasts, where the hair began to thicken and head downward in a line that disappeared below the waist of his sleeping pants. His entire chest was well-developed and the subtle outline of a six pack indicated that he still maintained some sort of fitness routine. He had scars on his chest, and on his right lower belly, just below his waistband, was an appendectomy scar. When she felt that particular scar, she smiled at the thought of such a mundane, Muggle thing upon his body when all the rest of his scars—and he had so many of them—were magically inflicted. There were more scars, she discovered, when her hands ran over his back, and in a moment of sadness, she pressed her head against his chest.

Severus noted her sudden disconnect and moved so he could look into her face. "What's the matter? Is this too much?" Concern laced his voice.

Hermione snuggled closer and shook her head against his chest. "No. It's just…" her hand traced a scar. "It's just I can't imagine what you went through to get these."

Severus spoke softly, "They are a part of my life that I've put behind me, Hermione. I remember receiving them and yes, at times the torture was unimaginable, but it's over, and I'm here. I'm here with you, and right now I don't give a damn about them since I have so lovely a woman next to me."

Hermione caressed his face. "You were and are so brave, Severus. I find that incredibly sexy." Her hands moved from his face to his chest, lightly brushing his nipples and then tweaking them to make him gasp. She continued her trek until she reached the crest of his hip, toying with the waistband of his pants.

Severus' hands were mimicking Hermione's, but when he began to tweak at her nipples, he didn't move farther. Hermione rolled a bit so that both breasts were more available to him and with a smirk, he leant forward to tongue one of them while his hand continued to caress and pinch at the other.

Hermione sighed. The feeling of his warm mouth on her left breast was pleasure personified. "That feels so nice. Please don't stop," she breathily whispered.

Severus smiled around the nipple and did not stop until he judged that the attention to this breast began to move from pleasurable to pain—and now was not the time to find out just what sort of pain Hermione could endure…later perhaps—he moved to the right breast. As he suckled and enjoyed the taste of Hermione's skin, he was unconsciously grinding his cock against her thigh.

"Hermione," he groaned, "I feel like I'm on fire. _Please_ touch me."

"Yes," she whispered and moved so that she was able to push Severus onto his back and then she straddled his body, cocooning him against her with her arms pillowed by his head and her thighs against his flanks. She nuzzled his nose with her own, and then kissed him. A slow drugging, nipping kiss. Her lips found their way to his ear and when she breathed into it, he cringed and laughed out a 'Stop!' Beneath her, Hermione could feel the goose pimples that flared about his skin.

With a giggle of her own, she attacked his neck, leaving a love bite he'd have to glamour in the morning. However, he did not stop her nor did she stop as she moved from his neck to his collarbone where she licked and sucked, guided by his reaction as to the best and most sensitive spots.

Her exploration of his body carried on further, and she moved back and sat up, her knicker-clad bum over his still covered groin. She admired him from this angle, her fingers drawing lazy patterns around his torso. "Gods, you're beautiful," she whispered, and leant forward to flick her tongue over his nipples. He moaned in response and very purposely, Hermione began to kiss her way from his nipples to his soft stomach. She nuzzled his skin, inhaling his scent. Aside from soap from his shower earlier, he smelled faintly of sandalwood, wood smoke, and his aftershave.

"A few months ago," she began as she moved off of him to lie beside him, "we brewed _Amortentia_ just for fun at work.

"Just for fun? Why?"

"Well, we had been given a bottle of wine from a visiting Norwegian delegate. It was a Friday afternoon, and we were messing around when someone suggested we open it."

"I hope there is a quick point to this interruption," Severus said, pulling Hermione back onto him. "I was quite liking where you were heading."

"There is," she said, nipping his lips. "We got a bit silly, and one of the younger girls in the office suggested we brew it. I nabbed a few ingredients from the lab and a cauldron."

Severus bucked his hard cock against Hermione's quim. "The point, love, the point," he grunted.

"I smelled you in it. I didn't know it at the time, but as I was kissing your stomach just now, I realised it was you."

Severus pulled Hermione's face toward him and said, "I smelled you in a brew of _Amortentia_ three years ago. I've been enamoured with you ever since, woman."

"Why did you never say anything?"

"I was willing to accept only your friendship and nothing more, if that's what life dealt for me."

"If you want all of me now, you can have me."

"I do," and he kissed her again.

With a joyous laugh, Hermione pulled away and _Accio'd_ her wand. As soon as it was in her hand, she cast a Contraception Charm and with another flick, removed their remaining clothing. The instant the heat of their bodies touched put a stop of any coherent talk the two might have had. Their kisses became deeper and more passionate. Severus thrust against Hermione, but she did not take him into her just yet. She broke the kiss and with a sly smile, again began to kiss her way down his body. Severus spread his legs for her to kneel between them when he realised what her intention was.

Hermione quickly knotted her wild, long hair into a bun on her head. When she was done, she looked at Severus' groin with lust. His pubic hair was coarse and very dark. He obviously trimmed it as it was not the wild tangle of curls she'd seen on her last few lovers. She shoved those thoughts out of her mind; Severus was her only thought right now. His thighs were covered in hair, but not a thick mat, and she was pleased about that. His cock however…

As she took his cock into her hand and felt its heft, she had to bite her lip to restrain a laugh as an old memory washed over her. She remembered a dark, giggled conversation in her dorm at Hogwarts when she, Lavender, and Parvati were goggling at pictures of naked men in a magazine Lavender had pilfered from somewhere. The pictures left nothing to the imagination both flaccid and erect. That led to a discussion of what their few male professors might look like. They skipped right over Flitwick—probably as tiny as he was tall—and Hagrid's—whose proportions simply were incomprehensible—and dove right into what Severus' might have looked like. Lavender suggested small, Parvati horse-like, but Hermione suggested a more realistic idea and was now pleased to find she was right. He was a bit longer than other men she had known, and by its burgeoning turgidity in her hand, figured he'd be proportionally wide when fully erect.

With a small smile, Hermione leant over and pressed her nose into Severus' groin. He smelled manly; musk mixed with soap and the scents she remembered from the _Amortentia_. She carded her fingers through the hair surrounding his manhood and then stroked carefully down to cup his sac. She held their weight in her hands and carefully massaged and pulled, guided by Severus' preference from his moans. After several moments of caressing his balls, she took his cock into her hand again.

She pressed it to her cheek, feeling the inexplicable hardness and silky softness against her face. With her tongue, she teased him to start, just placing soft kiss upon it and almost, but not quite taking him into her mouth. Severus seemed to enjoy this, but Hermione knew what he really wanted. Closing her eyes, she settled more comfortably to her task.

His reaction was stunning. He sucked in a breath and shuddered and groaned, "Oh yes. More please."

Hermione did more than just more. Once she got her rhythm and breathing in sync, she placed one of his hands on her head and indicated that he could take control.

He placed his other hand on her head as well and at first slowly moved her up and down, finding his favoured pace. As he came closer to coming, he went a little faster and a few times, held Hermione down so that she could not move. She hummed in appreciation of this action, sending vibrations all along his cock, and he groaned, whispering that he was close.

Hermione began to work him in earnest now, and it wasn't long before she felt him grow even bigger in her mouth, and he shouted that he was coming. After the initial few bursts of come, she moved her mouth back to his tip and sucked carefully on now very sensitive head. When he flopped back onto the pillow, his arms at his sides, she continued to carefully work her tongue long the length of his cock, cleaning him of his come and the extra moisture from her mouth.

She settled down next to him and felt quite smug. She had made Severus Snape lose control, and it was quite a power trip for her. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Oh, yes," he murmured. "Give me a moment, and I shall endeavour to thank you."

"Take your time, Severus; we've got all night." Hermione rolled over and conjured a glass of cold water. Taking several sips, she set the glass on the table beside her bed and rolled back to snuggle.

Severus lay quietly in the aftermath of his orgasm. He slowly rubbed Hermione's back and enjoyed the feel of her warm body next to his. He felt her press kisses to his chest as she lay there, humming happily.

Several minutes passed, and Severus had begun to rub Hermione's back with more purpose and enjoyed feeling her stretch and turn when he found a particular spot on her back that she enjoyed him rubbing. He sat up in earnest and turned her onto her stomach, straddling her. He continued to rub her back, but suddenly moved her hair and kissed the nape of her neck. She reacted quite favourably, and he continued to kiss her nape, slowly moving down to her shoulders, the middle and then her lower back. Occasionally he'd run his fingers along her sides, and she would laugh and wiggle, telling him to stop, but he persisted. Eventually, he had scooted back so that he could cup her bottom in his hands, rubbing and admiring how soft the skin was.

"You have a beautiful arse, my dear," he said as he began to kiss it.

"Flatterer," she mumbled and then squeaked because he had begun to suck one buttock quite hard.

He kissed, sucked and massaged her bum for a bit and then moved even farther back to rub her upper thighs. As he massaged them, his fingers would dip into the cleft between her legs, and she wiggled in an attempt to move him to where she really wanted him to be, but he wouldn't let her spread her legs yet. With a slap on her bum, he admonished her to be patient. After several more minutes of teasing her, he moved off and helped her roll over onto her back.

He moved so he again straddled her body, effectively trapping her beneath him in a way that was at once loving and warm and controlling. He kissed her slowly, teasing her lips with his tongue before pressing it between them and forcing her to open her mouth and he again explored it, making sure to caress the spots with his tongue he had discovered earlier. When he had completed his task, he moved to her neck, nipping and kissing, occasionally sucking, but what he noted really turned her on was for him to simply trace her skin with his tongue. He alternated between using the very tip and then laving fully with the broadest part of his tongue. These techniques, he discovered, were very effective when he reached her breasts, which bore the marks of his earlier attention to them. So as not to make them sore, he only kissed the skin here and began to journey down her belly, kissing, licking, and lightly sucking. Hermione laughed out loud when he drew circles around her navel and tugged the pendant, but also gasped in anticipation when she felt his hands on her thighs pushing her legs apart.

Severus lay down on his side between her legs and ran his fingers through her closely cropped curls and lower, eliciting moans of pleasure from Hermione. His hand brushed all of her at once, and he was pleased to feel how wet she was. "All this from just touching you?" he asked.

He lifted his hand to his face. "You smell divine. Do you taste divine as well?" He sucked his fingertips, watching Hermione's eyes widen in wonder and lust. "You are sweet. But, I'd rather drink from the source, as they say." Without giving Hermione time to reposition herself more comfortably, Severus rolled over and spread her legs further.

The first sweep of his tongue allowed Hermione to feel how strong and how hot it was. The heat was incredible, and she groaned, "Oh, gods. Please, Severus!"

"Please what?" he asked, his voice muffled as he had not removed his mouth from her.

"Please, just please," she whimpered.

"As you wish," he replied, settling down to really enjoy her. He pressed his tongue deep into her, the muscles of her core reacting to the invasion by clenching around his tongue. He would spend moments teasing her folds before sweeping upward to momentarily suck her clit and then moving down again. After several minutes, he pressed a finger deep within her, causing her to moan and writhe even more. Her responses spurred him even further in his efforts to pleasure her. He removed one of his fingers and swirled it and the wetness upon it around the rim of her anus and when he felt her relax a bit, he pressed his finger carefully into it.

She reacted by pressing herself against his fingers, encouraging him to pump them in and out. Leaning in and sucking her hardened bundle of nerves into his mouth again, she burst into orgasm, and by natural reaction, held his head in place until the tremors dissipated, and she dropped back onto the bed.

Using a discreet cleaning charm on his hand, but not his mouth, he leant up to capture her lips. She mewed her thanks as she kissed him and licked his mouth and chin clean of her juices.

"You kinky minx," Severus laughed.

"Play your cards right, and you'll find out just how kinky I am," she teased.

"Spread your legs, love," Severus urged, "I need to feel you wrapped around me."

Hermione complied immediately and they both sighed with pleasure as Severus sank into her, stretching her walls and filling her completely. "Oh, you feel perfect," she said.

"You're so warm and tight. It's all I can do to not come right away," he panted.

"Go slowly; I want to feel every inch of you in me. Gods you feel so hard it's like steel."

Slowly moving his cock in and out, he was able to control his breathing and stave off a quick end to this pleasure. Hermione kept mumbling, quite crudely in fact, and it was really turning him on.

"Oh, gods," she whispered. "Harder. Grind hard against me."

Severus did as she begged, shifting his body to accommodate her request but also to move a hand to a breast and tease her nipple. He pinched the pointed bud, and she begged him to pinch harder. The thought that she might like it rough caused him not only to pinch her nipple as hard as he could, but also to increase the force behind the thrust of his cock in her pussy.

"Yes," she said through gritted teeth. "Oh, yes. Please, harder and a bit faster."

Severus complied and for several long minutes the only sounds in the room were the slapping of skin on skin and pleas for more. Suddenly Severus pulled completely out and ordered her to turn over.

Quickly doing so, she was just barely on all fours when Severus slammed back into her. "Oh fuck, yes!" she screamed, rotating her hips to ensure he was as deeply seated within her as possible. She clenched her muscles and Severus groaned.

"That's it witch, make me feel you."

The couple quickly found a rhythm that was mutually pleasurable if their uttered oaths were anything to judge by. Once Severus had established his pace, he reached a hand around Hermione to her clit and began to flick and rub at it. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her upright so that she was seated on his knees, back to chest. With this new angle, she could bear down better for the hardness she wanted, and he was able to play with her breasts and rub her clit more easily.

"Fuck yes, oh, press harder on my clit," she stammered. "Harder…fuck me harder! Oh, gods, I'm coming!" she gasped, and it was all she could do to not scream the place down.

Severus felt her walls clench like a vice around him, rippling and milking him. He had had to stop moving within her for a moment as the strength of her muscles nearly pushed him out. As her orgasm subsided, he was able to thrust again, revelling in the pleasure of her twitching muscles to stimulate him further. She reached down to fondle him as he pumped in and out. "Oh, gods, Hermione. I'm so close. Oh, yes, oh!" and he went silent and still for just a moment before moaning very loudly, nearly a shout, as his orgasm overtook him. With several strong thrusts he pounded into her and then collapsed.

With a satisfied groan, Hermione began to slide down onto her tummy, allowing Severus to pull out before he fell beside her on the bed.

They both panted for a moment before repositioning themselves so that they were spooning each other. Severus moved to get his wand to clean them, but Hermione pulled his hand back. "Please don't. I want to feel your dried cum on my thighs. I know it sounds kinky, but the idea that I made you cum is rather heady."

"You may be as kinky as you wish, my dear. I feel we may have a lot of similar ideas in the kink department. I'd be happy to explore them with you."

"So does this mean there is something between us?" Hermione asked.

Severus snorted. "We both smelled each other in the _Amortentia_. We work well together and it's apparent that we trust each other. I've longed to be with you. So yes, I'd like for there to be something between us."

"I'd like that too."

Severus squeezed Hermione closer in a sort of hug. "Good, now go to sleep for a bit. I need to rest up to show you a little move I think you might like later."

Hermione sighed and fell asleep rather quickly, a smile on her face.


	5. Chapter 5

This is the final chapter, so if you missed part 4, please hit the back button. I've posted two chapters today because tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and I'll be quite busy!

I hope that however you celebrate December 25th, you'll have fun and enjoy. Please know that I am very grateful for you all...for reading and reviewing, for favoriting, for following my little stories, and for being part of my inner thoughts and my HP world, especially the world of SSHG.

* * *

Part 5

They slept for a few hours and woke at the same time to begin another bout of love making. Hermione whispered to Severus that she enjoyed being spanked, and upon this revelation, Severus leapt from their bed, grabbed a chair and sat upon it, signalling Hermione to join him. She straddled him at first, and they spent several minutes kissing and caressing before he prompted her to drape herself across his lap. He caressed her back and buttocks, occasionally slipping his fingers between her legs to stroke her folds before he spanked her.

Hermione squeaked at first, expecting yet not expecting the first slap, but was soon moaning and begging for Severus to spank her more and harder, but at the same time to stop. There was a fine line between her desire for him to continue the pleasure she was receiving and the need to stop because it was too much. It was that same fine line that turned them both on.

When her backside and upper thighs were rosy and warm, he stopped and plunged two fingers into her dripping core. With a twist or two, she was coming all over his hand. When her tremors ceased, she sat up, and straddled him again. Lifting her slightly as she did so, Severus guided her over him and thrust up into her. They quickly found a pleasurable rhythm and kissed each deeply, stopping only when Hermione's orgasm overtook her. Severus found his end not long after, and the two slouched against each other unable to move for a moment.

Hermione eventually lifted herself gently off Severus' softening cock, and on rather wobbly legs, went into the bathroom. When she returned, Severus went to take care of his needs. Climbing back into bed when he was done, he pulled the tiny witch to his side again, and the pair had just enough strength to whisper good night and promptly fall asleep.

Sun shining into their room was the only reason Severus was awake again. He scrubbed his face in exasperation at having been woken before he really wanted to. Last night had been incredible, and he was pleasantly exhausted. Reality, however, slapped him in the face when he realised they had one last day to attend before the retreat was over. He cast a nonverbal _Tempus Charm_ to see what time it was. _Six-thirty,_ he muttered. Breakfast wasn't until eight o'clock. Perhaps he could just roll back over and sleep until seven.

He intended to do just that, but a hand wandering over his body lead him to believe sleep would not be in the cards. "Woman, are you trying to kill me?"

Hermione laughed, her hand still wandering towards its goal. "Not really, just enjoying the tasty treat I have before me," she said. Her hand grabbed his flaccid cock and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"We have to go to breakfast in an hour and a half. There's no time for what I feel you may have in mind if past precedence is anything to go by. Oh," he groaned; Hermione had stroked him. "Do that again."

Hermione did stroke him again and hummed with happiness as he began to react. Suddenly she pulled her hand away and sat up. "But, as you say, there's not enough time. I'll just pop into the shower now." She hopped out of the bed and hurried to the bathroom.

She had just switched on the shower when arms wrapped around her and trapped her against his body, his hard cock pressed against her bum. "You are a tease, Miss Granger. I believe you should be punished."

Hermione wiggled against Severus. "Oh, you have yet to see just how naughty I can be, love. Let's get in the shower; I'll give you a preview."

The pair entered the shower and after a moment of jockeying for position and adjusting the water temperature, Hermione grabbed the bar of soap and began to wash Severus' chest. As she scrubbed him, he would kiss her, pressing his tongue into her mouth and delighting in the taste of her.

He was distracted when the bar of soap slipped over his groin, and Hermione's mouth suddenly was not there to kiss anymore. Before he could open his eyes to see what happened, he felt what happened. Hermione had engulfed him in one swift swallow and sucked very hard. Her soapy hand slid around his balls and massaged them. He wasn't sure what to think however—and it was quite hard to think by this point—when her hand slid between his legs, prodded him to spread them a bit and then a soapy finger circled his anus. With a gentle prod, she pressed a finger into him.

Severus gritted his teeth as he growled, "Oh, fuck! Hermione, you'll make me come! Stop!"

Hermione, laughing as she pulled his cock out of her mouth and her finger from his arse, asked, "Do you really want me to stop?" Her tongue danced across his tip.

"Yes, because I want to fuck you into oblivion!"

Hermione smiled widely and stood up. She kissed him and began to wrap a leg around his waist when he said, "Turn around. Face the wall."

Hermione did so and writhed as he pressed against her, kissing and sucking at the nape of her neck. Severus slid his hands down her arms and brought them above her head. With a whispered spell, her arms were held in place above her. She was now at his mercy, and she moaned in anticipation.

Severus knelt behind her and spread her bum, pressing his face into her, lapping at her. He fucked her with his tongue and then he moved higher. "Will you let me have you here?" he asked.

Hermione, insensate with lust by now, shouted, "Oh, gods yes!"

Severus stood and rubbed more of Hermione's juices around her anus. He carefully pressed the tip of his cock to her entrance and very slowly slipped in. Hermione let him know by word and action anytime he pressed too fast, but before long, Severus was completely encased within her. After giving her a moment to relax, he moved a hand around to find her clit. As he began to rub it, he also began slowly thrust. "Is this okay?"

Hermione whispered, " _Very_ okay. You can go a bit faster now."

Severus picked up his pace, and soon the pair was moaning in pleasure. Hermione encouraged him to go a bit faster and harder, and he was more than happy to. He leant in and pressed more kisses to her neck, nipping and sucking as he worked her from behind. His hand never left her clit and with a loud grunt, Hermione came. The clenching of her muscles clamped his cock like a vice, causing him to bite quite hard on her shoulder, but also come at the same time.

Severus flattened Hermione into the cold shower wall as he came down from his sexual high. With a small shake of her body, Hermione indicated that he needed to remove himself. Stepping back under the water to rinse himself, he removed the charm holding Hermione's arms in place and turned her so that she faced the spray.

"Oh, that's lovely," she said as she stood letting the water sluice down her body. "I suppose we should get cleaned up for real this time."

Severus smiled and kissed her. "Yes, I suppose we should. We do really need to go to breakfast. I'm starved."

Hermione smirked as she grabbed a flannel and began to soap it up. "I can't imagine why."

 **SSHG SSHG**

Minerva and her fellow conspirators were seated at a round table with two empty chairs, enjoying their first cup of morning tea. Menus were lying open on plates as the four friends discussed what looked good to eat that morning.

Harry happened to look up and see Hermione and Severus, walking toward the table. "Holy shite," he said. "Look at them."

Minerva, Kingsley, and Ron—in none too subtle movements—turned in their chairs to look at the couple coming their way. Kingsley laughed outright and Minerva chuckled. "I believe, gentlemen, our mission has been accomplished!"

"What mission would that be, Minerva?" Severus asked as he pulled a chair out for Hermione to sit upon.

"To finally get you two to see each other in a new light," she cackled. "And from the looks of you both, you've seen more than just the light." She pointed to the back of Hermione's neck. "I believe you missed one, dear," she said and cast a Glamour Charm over a love bite.

Ron's head hit the table. "Visions, people, visions! Harry, _please!_ _Obliviate_ me!"

Hermione hid her reddening face behind her menu and whispered to Severus, "You said you got them all!"

"Well, with that mess you call hair, it doesn't surprise me that I missed one."

Hermione shoved him and laughed. "Good thing I like you."

"Damn good thing," Severus murmured.

They were all busy with their menus when Harry ventured, and not quite so innocently, "So, the three of us played cards in Minerva's room last night after the dance. What did you two do?"

Hermione and Severus just stared at him, eyebrows raised.

Harry smiled and said, "I take it we can consider you a couple now?"

Hermione and Severus looked at each other. "Well, I wouldn't clear your calendar for a wedding in the near future," Severus snarked, "but yes, Hermione and I have decided to explore a relationship."

"From the look of you both," Kingsley laughed, "you explored and conquered it! Good for you then!" He raised his cup of tea in salute to the couple.

Hermione sipped her tea and sighed as its warmth settled within her. Placing the cup down, she turned to Minerva. "So why was it a 'mission' to get us together, Minerva?"

Minerva coughed a little into her cup before answering. "Well, you two had been making sheep's eyes at each other for so long. Harry told me you'd come up with the most ridiculous reasons to visit Severus' department at the Ministry and vice versa. We thought we'd use the annual Ministry retreat to sort of…help things along."

"What do you mean, help things along?" asked Severus, scowling.

Kingsley answered, "Come on man, surely you don't believe that hogwash about the hotel and not being able to use magic to create a larger bed or more rooms? The Muggles wouldn't have known the difference at all. Hell, there's an entire floor here that's completely magical and the Muggles never notice it. You two must have been completely twitted to not catch on to it."

Severus Snape did not like being made a fool of, and if the pulsing vein in his forehead was any indication, he was getting rather angry. "Do you mean that this entire weekend was planned? You set us up? What sort of friends are you to set us up like that?" he shouted.

"Severus, love. Calm down," said Hermione, her hand on his arm. "I don't like the idea of having been set up either, but, well, it did work, didn't it? Unless last night was…"

Severus stopped her with a hand on her lips. "Last night was not just a one off. I really do care for you quite a lot. We've decided to move forward with a relationship and admitted we've liked each other for a while. I suppose it doesn't really matter how we came to realise this."

"No, it doesn't," she agreed. "So, what's good to eat? I'm starved!"

Ron's head hit the table again. "For the love of Merlin, Harry, please _Obliviate_ me."

As the foursome left the dining room after a lovely, filling breakfast, Natalie signalled to Hermione and Severus.

"Mr. Snape! Miss Granger! I have good news!"

The couple walked to the counter followed by the other four. "Yes?" inquired Severus.

"We had a room for you! Which of you would like to take it? I believe you still have one more night to go before the conference officially ends?"

Severus and Hermione looked at each other. "I believe we'll keep the room we have, Miss. Your co-conspirators have accomplished their mission."

Natalie looked blankly at the couple and then at Minerva, who had arrived at the counter as well. "Miss McGonagall?"

"Natalie, my dear, the game is over. Your staff played along beautifully, and the result is as we had hoped."

"Oh, good. I was afraid of Mr. Snape's reaction had things not gone well."

Hermione suddenly stamped her foot. "Minerva," she said in a falsely sweet voice

Harry and Ron stepped back, Harry tugging Severus and Ron pulling Kingsley. "Oh-oh," said Ron.

"What, 'oh-oh'?" asked Severus.

"Let me give you a bit of advice, Snape," said Harry. "When Hermione stamps her foot and uses that tone of voice, do one of two things."

"Yes?"

"Run or apologise. Even if it's not your fault, apologise."

"I'd run, mate," said Ron.

"I'm not your mate, and why would I need to apologise?"

"We've known Hermione for a long time," Harry said. "That's her 'I'm going to explode' tone of voice. She's mad."

"Why would she suddenly be mad at Minerva when she wouldn't let me be angry with you all?"

Ron explained, "Well, it's Minerva, idn't it? She's like a second mother to Hermione. How'd you like it if your mum interfered with your love life?"

"As my mother is long dead, I've nothing to worry about, but I see your point. Should I rescue Minerva?"

"I would," laughed Harry.

Severus walked over to Hermione, leant into her ear and whispered. Hermione's eyes glazed over, and she quickly dropped her rant with Minerva and allowed herself to be dragged over to the lift.

"I imagine we won't see them the rest of the afternoon?" asked Harry.

"I would imagine not," said Kingsley.

Minerva ran a hand along her hat, adjusting the brim. "Thank you for saving me. I'd forgotten about her temper."

Ron said, "No worries. So, the next sessions are starting. Should we go?" The other three nodded and they walked away toward the conference room.

Upstairs, in what used to be a broom cupboard, Severus and Hermione were blissfully unaware of the droning on of Hildegard Thumpwhistle and her team building essay on the Mechanics Of Good Camaraderie. The world could go hang as long as the couple had each other…and some rope…or nipple clamps, a couple of feathers, maybe a candle and match, a ball gag…


End file.
